Looks like they forgot something...

Ok, so if you have a copy of the Inspiration catalogue, take a look at page 11 "Flexible sofas" in the PDF, or page 18 and 19 in the actual printed catalogue. There, you can assemble your own sofa from 4 different styles, creating more than 32,000 combinations. Great, I thought.

The page lists 11 seating units, 7 armrests, 8 legs, and 11 accessories! Each armrest, leg, and accessory had dimensions, but the seating units, which are the bulk of the sofa, didn't! Furthermore, all the armrests and legs listed only the height in centimetres and inches, but no width! I guess we don't really need to know the width of the legs, but you'd think the width would be important for the armrests.

The concept is great, but it wasn't useful to us since we had no idea whether or not the seating units would fit in my friend's apartment.

It would have been a useful resource, putting the power into the hands of the consumer, but it sadly failed to do that.

uh, are you sure you work here?

So we walk into Inspiration, looking for a 2 seater sofa (loveseat or 3/4 couch) and we knew what we were looking for. With their catalogue in hand, we were approached by a Chinese salesman,

Salesguy: May I help you?
S: Yeah, we're looking for the Indivi 2 couch. We'd like to know the dimensions lengthwise and if we could see a...
Salesguy: Yes yes... (as he walked on)

I guess we were to follow him... He brought us to the "Workshop" where he would attempt to use a software program, that allowed him to assemble a sofa by choosing 4 different looks with 3 different attachments (seating unit, armrest, and legs). He fumbled with the mouse, trying to figure out how to select the correct armrest and attach it to the chosen seating unit. I sat there resisting the temptation to just walk out. When he finally figured it out, S asked him for the dimensions. That totally stooped him as he frantically looked around the screen for, I guess, the dimensions button or something like that. :b

He walked away from the terminal for a bit, for god-knows-what, mumbling something, so I used the terminal and we figured out the dimensions on our own. I couldn't believe how incompetent he was. After realizing that the sofa was just 6 inches longer than what we wanted, he suggested another couch that was similar in design. So we followed him downstairs. The style was alright but the material wasn't. However he kept trying to sell it to us.

I attempted to tell him that S was limited by the length since it had to fit in a certain area. But he kept interrupting me and continued to sell the couch we were looking at. I couldn't complete any of my sentences. Ugh, it was awful. I kept thinking, 'Doesn't he want to know what we're looking for? Doesn't he want to help us? Doesn't he want to make a sale?'

We walked outta there unsatisfied and with very little faith or trust in the sales staff there.

We will go back there again? Not sure...

Forcing me to learn...

I've had my V600 for about 8 months now, so I guess I can say I pretty much know how to use the phone and its features. But it took me a LONG time to adapt myself to the keypad (I've used NOKIA phones up until now), and learn how they categorize functions and features.

The V600 is a great phone. It picks up calls with Bluetooth wireless technology and roams globally with quad-band -- a function that I use all the time, especially Bluetooth as I drive a stick and like to use both my hands when I'm driving. It has an integrated camera that takes pretty good photos, even in low light, with a 4x zoom, that I can send to my friends or use as a wallpaper on my phone. Other features, like MP3 and Polyphonic Ringtones, and 'Situational Lights' add bling to the phone, but what really irks me is the UI design and a couple of bad product design decisions too.

1. On the keypad, the Dial or Connect button is on the top right side, so when I'm dialing I have to scrunch my right thumb to hit the key, whereas on a NOKIA, it was easily accessible without putting my thumb in weird positions :b Of course that could just be a personal preference since I *am* right-handed... but isn't the majority of the population right-handed?

2. When I'm on a call (holding the phone with my right hand), my thumb always hits the button on the right side of the phone. I think its the button to record conversations or voice names with. I'm constantly hitting this button by mistake and recording conversations.

3. The 2 buttons on the left side of the phone control the volume and allow me to view missed calls, control the ringer, and show the time when the shell is closed. But when its in my purse, there are other things that hit the button and oftentimes because of this, my ringer is turned to silent and I end up missing calls, or I just keep hearing the button being pressed (there's a tone when it is pressed) over again.

4. There is no option to input notes for individual entries in the Phonebook. With my old NOKIA, I could enter in a note (ie. birthday) and have it notify me when the birthday was coming near.

5. Scrolling through the names in my Phonebook can only be done by pressing the down arrow button. Sure, I can type the first letter of a person's name and it will go to the first entry starting with that letter, but what about allowing the user to scroll by screen when they press the right arrow button?

6. Oftentimes I would have to interrupt creating a text message on my phone. Unlike the NOKIA, if I close my phone or hit a key by accident, it cancels the message. I can't retrieve what I had typed in as it erases it. The NOKIA saved the last message that was created (not sent) and it allowed me to continue. Thats a great feature.

I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that stand out to me right now :b I am definitely going back to a NOKIA when I purchase my next phone!

Dogs don't poo here!

I was at my friend's condo again last night and noticed this sign, posted in and around the front entrance of his building.

Too bad the dogs can't understand it... ;)

Stuck in an elevator...

I was in the elevator of a friend's condo in Yaletown, on my way down to ground level. The elevator stopped at the 19th floor and a lady rushed in, used her fob, pressed P1, and instead of hitting the button to close the elevator doors, she hit the alarm button by accident.

The elevator stays on that floor with the doors wide open, and of course alarm goes off. I stood there and thought, 'Oh great. I'm going to be stuck here all day!'. The phone rang in the elevator and after awhile the elevator was moving and we were on our way down.

I looked at the elevator button panel and realized how easy it was for her to make the mistake. The button to close the elevator doors was right next to the alarm button. Anyone who was in a rush would have easily pushed the wrong button. Why in the world would you put the alarm button so close to a button that a lot of people push?!

The developer you ask? I think it was built by CP. Talk about bad design...

American Express

Last night, I witnessed what I call "user frustration". A friend of mine picked up his mail and opened a letter from American Express...

"Congratulations! You have been pre-approved for an American Express card!"

My friend groaned and exclaimed,

"What the...I already have an American Express card!". He shook his head and proceeded to the shredder, "...Don't they know that?!"

I laughed and read the rest of the letter. It contained some private information so I understood why he wanted to shred it.

"What a waste of money, paper, AND my time!", he stated as he continued to shake his head.

It must be frustrating to realize that a company just doesn't take the time to check their records or to ensure their mailings are catered to a customer's individual needs. My friend didn't want to receive that letter. He wanted to be notified of other things pertinent to him as an American Express cardholder.

So, I thought I'd take it further and asked him, "...so how does that make you feel?" He looked at me exasperated and said,

"Like I'm unimportant as a client and customer... like I'm just a name or a number... and now I don't have a very good impression of American Express anymore, thats for sure!

Gmail

So I've been using my Gmail account for awhile now. Its a great concept -- grouping each message with its replies and displayed as a thread or conversation; tons of storage space so that, in theory, one would never have to delete an email; and of course, no pop-up ads.

Gmail is great! I can send and receive large emails (photos, video clips, large design-related files, etc).

However, right when I hit "Send" to send a large file, I can't tell whether or not Gmail is still in the process of sending, or if my browser froze. I keep staring at the word "Sending..." in the right top corner highlighted by a red box. There's no indication that its still sending or whether the browser or site has frozen.

There needs to be some sort of indication of progress, perhaps a progress bar or even an indication of how much, in percent, has been sent.

Ok, so maybe I'm a bit anal here... Anyone think this annoying? ;)

African Lion Safari

Living in Ontario, I can't count the number of times I've seen the commercial. It's aired so often that I can even sing the jingle! My parents took us there only once when I was young, but it was a lot of fun. I remember a monkey climbing onto our station wagon and ripping the siding from the car!

When I moved to Vancouver, I remember seeing the same commercial on TV. Two weeks ago, I asked a friend of mine if he'd ever heard of it. He told me he's seen the commercials and thought it was in the States, or Africa, or some tropical area. I laughed and told him it was in Ontario, of all places!

Just today I saw the commercial again and I tried to watch it from a perspective of a native Vancouverite. And then I realized it isn't clear WHERE the African Lion Safari is located. What the heck are they doing showing the same commercial they show in Ontario, where there is a higher chance of attracting customers, to people who are 4 provinces away? If they're going to advertise, they should at least create a commercial that speaks to those who need to travel a fair distance, and make it clear WHERE it is .

"... African Lion Safari ~ See the animal show!..."

Email in cyberspace?

Why do some sites have an email address where you can contact their customer service department, when no one replies to it?

That's how it is with some companies. Their site might look great and their products even greater, but a company's credibility greatly declines with its customers when an attempt at communication via email, isn't acknowledged or even responded to.

Try the young women's clothing company, Triple Five Soul. I emailed them with a product inquiry (purchase of a coat) and to this day (it's been 2 weeks), I have yet to hear from them. A male friend of mine emailed them 3 days ago and also has not received a reply. All of the retail companies that i have ever emailed (ie. Gucci, Abercrombie & Fitch, Bebe, BCBG) have answered my inquiry within 24 hours. Some companies send an automated reply acknowledging receipt of my email.

So did my email go through? Should I send it again? Is it lost in cyberspace? Is the company just backlogged with email that they can't respond within a reasonable amount of time? Or is there even anyone on the other end of that email address? Without a response or acknowledgement that I'm a valued customer, its like talking to a wall.